Rosie O'Donnell to leave TV talk show 'The View'

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

Rosie O'Donnell presents an award during the American Theatre Wing's 68th annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York, June 8, 2014.Carlo Allegri

(Reuters) - Actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell is leaving ABC's long-running morning talk show "The View" to focus on her family, the Walt Disney Co.-operated network and her publicist said on Friday.

O'Donnell and her wife Michelle Rounds split in November, and she had decided to leave the show to spend more time with her five children, her publicist, Cindi Berger, said.

"Rosie has teens and an infant at home that need her attention. This has been a very stressful situation. She is putting her personal health and family first," Berger said.

Next week will be her last on the program, Berger said.

The Emmy-winning O'Donnell had returned to the show last July, after leaving her 2006-2007 co-host role due to failed contract negotiations with the network and following clashes with property baron Donald Trump and former co-host Elisabeth Hasselback.

"The View" has been going through an overhaul after journalist Barbara Walters, who created the show in 1997, retired last May.

"When she told us that she wanted to exit The View, we respected and understood her desire to put her well-being and her family first," ABC said in a statement, adding that O'Donnell would still make guest appearances on the network's "The Fosters."

O'Donnell, known for her brash humor, is an activist for gay adoption and other social causes.

She has appeared in television series, on the stage and films such as the baseball comedy "A League of Their Own" in 1992 and the romantic comedy "Sleepless in Seattle" in 1993.

Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Michael Urquhart